• Jamie
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1131 year ago

    Google and Chrome really need to be broken up. Maybe people should start writing (physical) letters to the FTC asking to review Google’s recent actions as monopolistic behavior.

    It wouldn’t be the first time. But showing the interest is the best way to get the ball rolling that we can do.

    • @WindyRebel@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      191 year ago

      Honest curiosity on your answer to this.

      Google is the developer of Chromium and the Chrome browser which uses Chromium. Chromium is free and open source (though owned by Google).

      I’m not sure how you break up Chrome and Google. That’s literally their product. Who are we giving this to? There are browsers that do not use Chromium (e.g., Firefox and Safari being the big ones).

      • Jamie
        link
        fedilink
        English
        541 year ago

        Companies have gotten broken up before, like AT&T once did many years ago. In this case, a Google breakup would probably separate some of their services into different companies. At the very least Google (the “advertising” company) should be separate from Chrome (the “browser” company), because it creates a conflict of interest and creates monopolistic behavior.

        In any case, trying to do something is better than doing nothing and hoping it turns out all right.

        • @PixelPlumber@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          01 year ago

          I think the poster is making a good point though- In this split, google the advertising company can freely contribute to the open source chromium. You need some model that leads the chromium maintainer to reject changes like this.

          • Jamie
            link
            fedilink
            English
            81 year ago

            I’m sure there’s some mechanism in antitrust to prevent the broken up companies from doing things like that. Otherwise, a “primary” company would just contract out the old other pieces and they’re basically whole again.

            • @PixelPlumber@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              21 year ago

              That’s true, I just wonder if open source changes anything, legally. Unless one term of the breakup is “will not contribute to chromium”

      • @foggy@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        261 year ago

        Google isnt Google anymore. It’s Alphabet. Alphabet includes Google domains, Android, Gmail, YouTube, chrome, Google search, search ads, play store, fuscia, Google maps, authenticator, chat, classroom, assistant, meet, nest, pixel, waze, Gboard, messages, google tv, Google photos and the rest

        Each one of these have their own presidents, their own boards, their own teams. They are all directed by Alphabet.

      • Jamie
        link
        fedilink
        English
        61 year ago

        I didn’t include details because I still had to research after the comment, but this page details several methods of contact. The antitrust email looks like a good place to start if you don’t want to mail anything. But physical mail is harder to ignore, it actually has to get into someone’s hands and be dealt with. So I’ll try to write up a letter and send that to maybe the regional office nearest Google’s HQ.

        • @ArcticCircleSystem@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          11 year ago

          Have people not been trying that for years already? How do we know if there’s a good chance that’ll even do anything beyond get tossed in the trash? ~Strawberry